Multi-part optical system for light propagation in confined spaces and method of fabrication and use thereof

ABSTRACT

The present invention is a Substrate guided hologram that allows a wider range of optical devices based on SGHs with improved parameters such as larger NTE displays with a wider field of view, thinner substrates and more compact form factors. The Substrate-Guided Hologram of the subject invention includes a holographic lens which is positioned at an angle to and spaced from a holographic grating, with a mirror located at a diagonal to each of the lens and the grating.

BACKGROUND Field of the Invention

The present Invention relates to optics, and more particularly, it relates to optical waveguides and substrate-guided holograms.

Substrate guided wave (SGW) holography is accomplished by recording and reconstructing holographic images with light beams guided by an optical substrate. An object wavefront guided or propagated in free space can be holographically recorded using a light beam transmitted through a substrate of transparent dielectric material with two parallel surfaces. The light beam is confined within the substrate by total internal reflection and propagates through the substrate to holographic material where it overlaps with another guided or non-guided beam, creating an interference pattern. When the hologram is processed and illuminated, the holographic wavefront may be reconstructed.

The use of Substrate-Guided Holograms (SGHs) provides numerous advantages, such as providing compact solution for near-to-eye (NTE) displays, allowing fully see through displays, avoiding stray light, and providing user privacy to the displayed information.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In one embodiment, the present invention is a Substrate guided hologram that will allow the construction of a wider range of optical devices based on SGHs with improved parameters such as larger NTE displays with a wider field of view, thinner substrates and more compact form factors. The Substrate-Guided Hologram of the subject invention includes a holographic lens which is positioned at an angle to and spaced from a holographic grating, with a mirror located at a diagonal to each of the lens and the grating. A microdisplay is spaced from the lens at the lens' focal distance or closer to create a collimated type of Near to Eye (NTE), display with the virtual image seen at infinite or closer at a predetermined distance. The NTE is generally a virtual display mounted on a helmet with the projection lenses placed at a close distance in front of one or both of the user's eyes. The lens and grating are on first and second physically separate substrates. A light beam with the image travels from the microdisplay through the lens into the first substrate where it diffracts at a shallow angle to travel by total internal reflection through the substrate and bounces off the mirror into the second substrate where it is diffracted by the grating the viewer.

In another embodiment, the invention comprises an optical system with a light source bearing an image; there is a holographic lens adjacent a first substrate and a holographic grating adjacent a second substrate, whereby the holographic lens is positioned perpendicular and spaced from the holographic grating. A mirror is between the holographic lens and the holographic grating so that a light beam with the image travels from the light source through the first substrate to the holographic lens and through the first substrate by total internal reflection to bounce off the mirror into the second substrate to the holographic grating by total internal reflection and is then out-coupled for viewing by a user. The first substrate can have a different refractive index from the second substrate. The first substrate can have a larger refractive index than the holographic lens. The second substrate can have a smaller index of refraction than the holographic grating. Differences in the refractive indexes of the two substrate provide more flexibility for the NTE display geometries in the terms of guided angles, substrates, thicknesses and accordingly for the weight and volume of the displays.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING

FIG. 1 is a schematic of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING

The subject invention involves a bent waveguide, which includes two straight portions for directing a light beam connected by a portion which changes the direction of the light beam.

A holographic optical element (HOE) lens 10 and HOE grating 20 reside on physically separated substrates 18 and 16, respectively. These substrates can be manufactured from materials with different refractive indices, giving more flexibility in choosing guided angles (angles between the hologram surface and the beam direction) than in prior art systems. The lens 10 and substrate 18, can be positioned at right angles and spaced from the grating 20 and substrate 16. The respective substrates may be positioned at any desired angle, however, from 0° to 360°, preferably 45° to 135°, and most preferably 90°. A mirror 14 is positioned at an angle adjacent lens 10 and substrate 18 on the one hand, and grating 20 and substrate 16 on the other. The substrates 16 and 18 may be spaced 5-10 mm from each other, but the spacing is not critical, needing only to be as small as possible to maximize the eye box and minimize the distance subtracted from the eye relief. There should, however, be enough room to include the mirror.

In one embodiment of the present invention, when a guided beam is propagating from the HOE lens 12 in the substrate 18, it is more advantageous to have a larger refractive index in the substrate than in the lens 12 (e.g., it can be a paired HOE with n=1.49 and polycarbonate substrate with n=1.56). When the beam is propagating from the substrate 16 in the grating 20, the substrate 16 should have a smaller index of refraction than the grating 20 (e.g., it can be a paired HOE grating with n=1.49 and silica glass with n=1.46, or plastic with a smaller index of refraction than the HOE grating 20).

Both substrates 16 and 18 are generally substantially transparent in at least a portion thereof, but may be also entirely transparent. The substrates can be made from a number of materials. For example, they can be made of at least glass, polycarbonate plastic, acrylic plastic, polyolefin resin, or any other plastic used in the art. Such a substrate is at least operative when having a thickness of the 0.3-6 mm, but can also be operative at other thicknesses.

The substrates 16 and 18 are depicted in the FIGURES as a single, unitary body of a single material. However, the substrates may also comprise a plurality of bodies made of a single layer or a plurality of laminations. A person of ordinary skill in the art will be capable of using ray-tracing software to determine whether the particular configuration of materials and bodies will serve to transmit the light in-coupled through the first substrate 18, and out-coupled to the second substrate 16.

The in-coupled light is first transmitted through the substrate 18 through total internal reflection. The substrate 18 must have an index of refraction, relative to the environmental medium, sufficient to internally reflect the light. For example, in space, the index of refraction is very close to 1; in air the index of refraction is about 1.00025 to 1.00030. Those of ordinary skill in the art will be able to calculate an angle of total internal reflection. Examples of high-index of refraction materials capable of total internal reflection with many media are polycarbonate plastic and acrylic plastic.

Transparent means that the substrates 16 and 18 are capable of permitting light through to allow the light out-coupling. Accordingly, the substrate may be color tinted or have other modifications that do not render the device inoperative. For example, any material will have some amount of diffusion from imperfections or inclusions, but the diffusion should not be so great as to prevent the acceptance, conveyance, and transmission of the light by the second substrate.

The substrate 16 and 18 can be made of a bendable (flexible) material thus capable of providing backlight for a flexible type LCD. Flexible LCDs are known to those skilled in the art as capable of changing their shape upon application of the mechanical bend, twist, or splay force, without any degradation in the image quality or mechanical wholeness of the device.

It will be understood that the foregoing description is of preferred exemplary embodiments of the invention and that the invention is not limited to the specific forms shown or described herein. Various modifications may be made in the design, arrangement, and type of elements disclosed herein, as well as the steps of making and using the invention without departing from the scope of the invention as expressed in the appended claims. 

1.-5. (canceled)
 6. An optical system comprising: (a) a light source comprising a light beam; (b) a holographic lens fixed to a first substrate spaced in proximity of the light source at or within the focal distance of the holographic lens; (c) a holographic grating fixed to a second substrate spaced apart from and at an angle to the first substrate; (d) a mirror located at a diagonal to and between the holographic lens and the holographic grating; wherein the light beam travels from the light source through the first substrate to the holographic lens then through the first substrate by total internal reflection to bounce off the mirror into the second substrate to the holographic grating by total internal reflection and then out-coupled for viewing by a user.
 7. The optical system of claim 6 therein the first substrate has a different refractive index from the second substrate.
 8. The optical system of claim 6 wherein the first substrate has a larger refractive index than the holographic lens.
 9. The optical system of claim 6 wherein the second substrate has a smaller index of refraction than the holographic grating.
 10. The optical system of claim 6 further comprising a helmet to which the optical system is mounted.
 11. The optical system of claim 6 wherein the holographic lens is positioned perpendicularly to the holographic grating.
 12. The optical system of claim 6 wherein the holographic lens is positioned at an angle comprising 0° to 360° relative to the holographic grating.
 13. The optical system of claim 6 wherein the holographic lens is positioned at an angle comprising 45° to 135° relative to the holographic grating.
 14. The optical system of claim 6 wherein the holographic lens is spaced apart from the holographic grating at a distance comprising 5-10 mm.
 15. The optical system of claim 6 wherein each substrate is independently substantially or entirely transparent.
 16. The optical system of claim 6 wherein each substrate independently comprises glass, or plastic.
 17. The optical system of claim 6 wherein the plastic comprises polycarbonate, acrylic, or polyolefin.
 18. The optical system of claim 6 wherein each substrate independently comprises a thickness in the range of 0.3 to 6 mm.
 19. The optical system of claim 6 wherein each substrate independently comprises a plurality of bodies or a single body.
 20. The optical system of claim 6 wherein each substrate independently comprises a plurality of layers or a single layer.
 21. The optical system of claim 6 wherein each substrate independently comprises a plurality of bodies or a single body.
 22. The optical system of claim 6 wherein each substrate comprises an index of refraction sufficient to internally reflect the light beam relative to the environment.
 23. The optical system of claim 6 wherein one or both of the substrates independently comprises a color tint.
 24. The optical system of claim 6 wherein one or both of the substrates independently comprises flexibility.
 25. The optical system of claim 6 wherein the light source is a microdisplay. 